Still Alive
by StevenTheLost
Summary: This is a love story, but perhaps not the one you would usually expect. There is indeed a crush, but it does not come to fruition. There is pain, but no relief from the ones who caused it. There is death, but it is not eternal. This is a love story involving three individuals, who suffer from the pain of being still alive.


_**Author's Note**_

I was originally supposed to write this as a short story for one week to avoid being overwhelmed by my other Touhou fan-fics, but it ended up becoming a much larger, as well as entirely different, story than I originally intended. That being said, it's still unfinished two weeks in, so I'm just going to make it another story with chapters.

I ended up experimenting with many different ideas and styles of writing this time around, like making every scene drawn out or trying to have large paragraphs with a lot of descriptions for what was going on. I don't think I did well in regards to describing the characters, but, at the very least, I'll learn something from this.

This is another fan-fic with Mystia, although it's a much different story than the others so I don't think people will get tired of seeing her anytime soon. It's also the first time I'm portraying her as a lesbian, so I'm hoping it works out well.

There will only be one other author's note after this, and it will be at the end of the story (unless I need to post references for chapters) as it can remove the reader from the engagement of the story. Yes, I've done notes like this during other fan-fics, but I've realized since then that I prefer them at points when the reader is content with the story, like a way of pointing out the decisiveness of the ending. That being said, I have a tendency to break my own rules, so only time will tell if I keep to this.

Well, that's all I really have left to say. I hope you enjoy this story and, as always, let me know your thoughts and opinions. Whether it's good or bad, I'm always happy to hear what people have to say, as that means they took the time to read whatever I wrote.

Thank you for being yourself.

* * *

_**Still Alive**_

It was a sunny day, but the clouds hovering in the distance foretold of rain to come. As though it were running away from the incoming weather, a warm breeze made its way through the open sliding doors of Mokou's house, who lay staring at the ceiling. Her body was unmoving, but she was very much still alive, waiting.

She wasn't waiting for anything in particular; she just waited until she felt like it was no longer time to wait. Such a waste of time was perfect for someone with too much time on their hands; an eternity, to be precise.

"Pardon the intrusion!" A voice invaded the ears of Mokou, sounding irritatingly sweet; a sign it was fake. Mokou's face scrunched up a bit too much for a woman who cared for her looks, but she wasn't bothered by it. The owner of that voice is what bothered her right now.

"Go away." Mokou grumbled, not bothering to move from her spot, despite her irritation.

"Eh? But I just got here." Mokou could see Mystia poke her head into her vision from the direction of the table. She tilted her head to the left to see that Mystia was standing on top of it, disregarding the fact her shoes were still on. Mokou's frown became even larger at the scene, finally sitting up to face her unwanted guest.

"That was a present from Keine. Get off it. _**Now.**_" Mokou's voice was no longer lazy, the warning thick in her breath. Mystia simply shrugged, brushing off the threat, but stepped off the table anyways. Her wings folded up, showing she had flown from the outside into the house, using the table as a landing pad. Twirling around as her short pink hair swished and dress adjourned with bows twisted, she faced the table she just stepped off of and sat down.

"What are you doing?" Mystia asked, tilting her head as though she were genuinely curious. Mokou simply huffed and ignored her, standing up to grab a cloth and wet it for the recently dirtied table. "Hey, you have a guest you know?" Mystia called out as Mokou walked down the hall, returning shortly after with the damp cloth she wanted. Silently, Mokou sat back down as she wiped the dirt off the table. After finishing, Mokou reached underneath the table and tugged off Mystia's shoes. "Hey!", Mystia complained in response to this. Mokou ignored her and tossed the shoes in the general direction of the open sliding doors; they made a couple 'clack's as they hit the floor and toppled to the outside. Mystia's faced puffed up in anger. "Is that any way to treat a guest?"

"Is dirtying a table with the shoes you didn't take off before entering any way to respect your host?" Mokou finally broke the silence as she retorted back. Mystia's faced was still puffed up, but more in resignation than anger now. "Why are you even here?" Mokou asked.

Mystia gave a small taunting smile as she answered. "Oh? Aren't you lonely, living out here by yourself? I thought you might want some company."

Mokou sighed as she heard this and said, "I'd rather die another hundred times before keeping you as company." Mystia's smile turned into a straight line, as though she were truly disappointed with hearing that. "Besides, I have Keine to keep me company." Mystia's ears perked up upon hearing the name, her mouth finally turning into a frown.

"The were-teacher, huh? …Why are you even found of her?" Mystia asked, her voice containing a hint of scorn. Mokou blinked at the night-sparrow, thinking her behavior was odd.

"Why do you even care? On that note, why are you even here?" Mokou and Mystia disliked each other. Granted, Mokou disliked Kaguya even more, but it was still too odd for Mystia to be acting so familiar with Mokou. At first, it seemed like she was doing so to annoy Mokou, but with her behaviour becoming stranger, Mokou wondered if that truly was the case.

"No reason, I'm just bored." Mystia averted her gaze from Mokou. "Anyways, are you going to tell me or not?"

"Tell you what?"

Mystia grunted as her eyes narrowed in slight frustration. "Why you like Keine." Mokou was still confused, but sighed, knowing Mystia would probably avoid the topic if she pressed harder.

"Well… Keine was the first one who wasn't afraid of me. Everyone else from the human village up to that point cursed me and called me a monster, because their ancestors had seen me die before. One day, I ran into Keine in the bamboo forest. I was just about to leave her out there, but then she called out to me as though she would a friend. I asked her if she knew who I was and she said yes… oh, this is also the reason I started helping people through the forest as well… anyways, I was so used to being alone, that I ended up being completely overwhelmed by her. She followed me and continued talking to me without showing any fear and eventually, I led her to my house. We continued talking until the sun set, giving me the first friend I've had in hundreds of years."

Mokou's expression kept becoming nostalgic and happy as she spoke, getting completely engrossed in the memory. She didn't notice Mystia's shifting around in her seat and her fidgeting, as though she were uncomfortable. Before Mokou could continue talking, Mystia stood up suddenly and stated, "I'm leaving. This is boring." Mokou's pleasant expression turned sour at this action, but she remained quiet as Mystia unfurled her wings, picked up her shoes, and left. If Mokou had spoken, Mystia may have decided to stay longer and pester her more, thus her silence. Knowing she was alone again, Mokou lay back down in her original spot before she was disturbed, as though Mystia's visit had been an illusion.

The dirt on the floor underneath the table from when Mystia still had her shoes on was the only evidence remaining of such a thing occurring.

* * *

It was a rainy day, the formerly far off-clouds finally looming overhead as they let loose a torrent of water across the land; their sharp taps on Mokou's roof filling the normally silent home with an oddly relaxing noise. The noise encircled Mokou, who lay staring at the ceiling. Her body was unmoving, but she very much still alive, waiting.

She wasn't waiting for anything in particular; she just waited until she felt like it was no longer time to wait. Such a waste of time was perfect for someone with too much time on their hands; an eternity, to be precise.

A knock at the sliding doors disturbed Mokou's current state of stillness as she stood up almost instinctively. She opened the doors lazily, coming face to face with a soaked night-sparrow.

"C-can I come in and dry my clothes?" Mystia asked bashfully, as though it were humiliating to be seen in such a state. Mokou crossed her arms in expectation as she blocked Mystia from entering, her body still being assaulted by the raindrops as there was no roof over her head. "Wh-what do you want from me?"

"Apologize for yesterday." Mokou stated clearly and loudly, so as to not be drowned out by the rain outside. Mystia looked a little surprised from the request, but nodded.

"I'm sorry for coming in uninvited and bringing dirt into your home." Mystia spoke loudly and clearly as well, surprising Mokou as she has sounded sincere. She stepped aside to allow Mystia access inside, who hurried into the shelter, but stayed near the entrance, not wanting to dampen the floors more than she had to. She even took off her shoes, surprising Mokou even further, but she made no attempt to take off her soaked dress.

"Hurry and take that off, you don't want to catch a cold, do you?" Mokou asked, reaching out to help Mystia out of her clothes, but her hand was swatted away. Mystia immediately looked regretful the moment she had refused Mokou's help.

"Sorry. I just- I don't want to bother you anymore than I have to." Mystia said, looking away from Mokou who looked at her; Mystia's face was red from being out so long in the rain, at least Mokou thought so.

"Is it really that upsetting to you, to receive help from me?" Mokou frowned. Mystia looked up at her with wide eyes, as though she realized that's exactly what it looked like.

"No! Th-that's not it…" Mystia trailed off as she shivered. Mokou sighed as she approached Mystia and started helping her out of her drenched dress. "H-No, wait a-" Mystia started to complain.

"Not waiting." Mokou stated as she took the dress off of Mystia and into her arms; a stream of water dripping off of the dress onto the floor. She laid it onto the floor as she went into the back for some rope and clips, turning to call out to Mystia, but pausing when she saw that Mystia was crouched on the floor, her wings covering her body to the best of their wingspan. "What are you doing?"

"K-Keeping warm. I-it's colder without damp clothes than with." Mystia spoke hastily, her voice cracking. Mokou looked at her worriedly, taking her voice as a sign that she was in worse shape than she had first thought.

"I'm going to get something to hang your clothes with, as well as some towels and blankets." Mokou said to the curled up Mystia as she left her alone in the room. She grabbed the towels first and threw them at the floor in front of Mystia-her undergarments now on the floor beside her-who made no movement to grab them. "Hey now, get yourself dried up."

"I-I will, just give me a second." Mystia nodded as her wet-pink hair splashed a little water onto the surrounding floor. Mokou also noticed that she was still covering her body with her wings.

"If you haven't started drying off by the time I get back, I'll dry you myself." Mokou stated, to which Mystia's ears perked up for some reason in response. Mystia nodded in agreement and Mokou turned to walk back into the hallway for the rope and clips, which she took a while to find; it was thrown into a spare room she barely used. When she came back, Mystia was no longer covered by her wings as her body had been neatly wrapped by a towel. A couple of the other towels, dampened, were off to the side and the last remaining towel was currently being used by her to dry her hair. Mokou was content with Mystia's work enough to leave her alone and start working on the clothesline. She tied one end of the rope to the low-hanging beam at one end of the room and did the same for the other end, making sure to feed it through a couple of the beams in-between. When she thought it would hold, she took Mystia's wet dress and undergarments and folded them over the rope, using the clips to hold them in place. The line was positioned across the entrance, as that was the wettest section of the house currently, so Mokou didn't mind if it got wetter.

Once she was finished, Mokou grabbed some blankets from the back and brought them over to Mystia, who was now seated at the table. Mystia took the blankets gratefully from Mokou, not bothering to take the towel off as she wrapped herself in the warm fabric. Mokou saw Mystia poke her head into the blankets in the next instant however, making her raise an eyebrow as she sat down at the table as well. A few moments later, the towel Mystia was wearing was thrown into the pile of damp piles as she poked her head back up, snuggly bundled up in the blanket.

"It's so soft~" Mystia said gratefully. She laid her head along the surface of the table with her recently dried hair, then a curious look came across her face as though she had thought of something. "Why do you only have a regular table; why not a kotatsu?"

"I don't need one." Mokou said, not elaborating further. Mystia narrowed her eyes; out of exhaustion or suspicion, Mokou couldn't tell. When Mystia looked away from Mokou, she decided it must have been exhaustion, as Mystia wouldn't let things go if she was bothered by something. It was at that moment that Mokou realized just how well she knew Mystia; she was constantly bothering Mokou simply because she ran a yakitori stand from time to time. Somewhere along the way, Mokou had gotten to know Mystia better than even Keine, as her pestering was relentless. Mokou laid her head along the table as well, looking at the back of Mystia's head. "Why were you out in the rain?" Mokou asked.

Mystia's ears perked up again; perhaps she had fallen asleep and Mokou had awoken her. She turned her head to face Mokou again to respond. "I felt like stretching out my wings for a bit."

"In this weather?"

"It wasn't raining when I went out." Mystia stated, her grey eyes still narrow and her face still a light shade of crimson from before. Mokou realized that she probably needed to warm up on the inside as well; she wasn't too sure how to deal with people caught in the rain, as the current situation had never happened to her.

"Would you like some tea?" Mokou asked Mystia, who nodded slightly without lifting her head off the table. Mokou got up and quickly fired up the stove with her powers before grabbing the kettle and filling it with water. Mystia watched rather intently as Mokou went about her business, perhaps because there was nothing else to do. Mokou noticed Mystia's gaze, but thought nothing of it as she sat back down at the table to wait for the kettle to boil. "You must have been pretty far away from other houses." Mokou said.

"Huh?"

"You were really drenched when you came here. If my house was the closest shelter and you started flying over here the moment it started pouring, then it must have still taken quite some time to arrive, for you to be so drenched." Mokou pointed out. Mystia seemed hesitant to respond, but nodded her head.

"Yeah… something like that." Mystia lifted her head from the table and cuddled further into her blankets, making her neck disappear from plain sight as it went underneath the cover. Mokou continued laying her head on the table as she watched her guest, simply looking because it was all there was to do at the moment. Mystia looked back with interest, curious. "What is it?"

"Nothing", Mokou said, making Mystia frown with dissatisfaction. Mokou was almost prepared to give her an explanation, but Mystia sighed and put her head back down on the table in resignation, surprising Mokou. Mystia wasn't the type to drop things when she wasn't satisfied with how it ended. Mokou stared at Mystia's face, grey eyes meeting her red eyes in response. Mystia looked away after a moment of silence, making Mokou self-conscious of how strange staring at her must have been. "I'm sorry, you just seem different from usual." Mokou quickly made up an excuse, despite not being prompted to do so. Mystia shifted a bit as she tried finding a more comfortable position, a questioning hum leaving her lips so as to show she heard Mokou. "Well, I guess it might just be because you're being quieter than usual."

"Is it really that strange?" Mystia asked, her voice containing a hint of something similar, yet different from worry. Mokou shook her head, then, when she realized Mystia was facing away from her, sighed to herself.

"I don't think so, considering the circumstances. You seemed to be in pretty bad shape when you came in." Mokou stated, hearing Mystia take a deep breath in. Mokou was wondering what could possibly be going on inside the youthful Yōkai's head, for such strange mannerisms to be coming from her.

"…D-do you-" Mystia continued asking the question, but in her barely above a whisper voice which was facing the other direction of Mokou, it was easily drowned out by the sound of the kettle boiling.

"Excuse me for a second." Mokou got up from the table and made her way over to the kettle. She came back to the table quickly with two cups of tea, steam lazily drifting off the surface of each liquid, and placed the cups in front of Mystia and herself. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Mokou asked, apologetic for the interruption. Mystia looked down at the cup of tea and took another deep breath before re-asking the question.

"Do you l-like me more this way?" Mystia asked, this time in a louder voice. Mokou blinked at Mystia, as though she were unsure of why Mystia would ask something like that. Regardless, Mokou answered her honestly.

"Nope." Mokou stated bluntly.

"Huh?" Mystia seemed shocked, but then Mokou continued on.

"Well it's like… how should I put this? Even if it's not strange for you to be acting this way, you're still not acting like yourself. Don't get me wrong; you're usually completely annoying, rude and obnoxious… but you're also honest and unafraid of me, even when you know full well how strong I am. I don't… dislike that part of you, so I like you better that way." Mokou admitted, scratching her cheek sheepishly. Mystia's face was still facing away from Mokou, but her ears perked up yet again, indicating a reaction to Mokou's words, although Mokou still had no idea what Mystia could have been feeling.

"I see." Mystia's voice seemed to respond half-heartedly as she moved the blanket above her head, covering her head while still remaining bundled up.

"Hey now, aren't you going to drink your tea?" Mokou complained, taking a sip of her tea right after. Mystia took the blanket off her head lazily as she sat up and bent her head forward to take a sip. She gave a small sigh and looked at Mokou with some poutiness. Mokou could hear Mystia mutter something under her breath, but couldn't quite hear what it was. "What's that look for?"

"No reason." Mystia said, sticking out her tongue. This seemed more like the Mystia that Mokou knew, so she smiled a bit.

"I guess you're feeling better." Mokou stated. Mystia's pouty face turned into regret when Mokou said those words however.

"…There's one thing you got wrong about me though." Mystia said. Mokou raised an eyebrow to those words and waited for Mystia to continue on, but when she didn't, Mokou decided to ask.

"What was I wrong about?" Mokou asked, Mystia lips pursing as though she were unsure of whether or not to say it. She eventually spoke again, however.

"I haven't been… entirely honest with you." Mystia said, looking off to side to avoid looking at Mokou. Mokou just laughed at Mystia's confession.

"Well, of course you haven't; you constantly look for excuses to bother me!" Mokou continued laughing while Mystia's face frowned in response.

"No you idiot, that's not it… What I'm trying to say is… about today…" Mystia kept trailing off, her voice losing strength the closer she got to admitting whatever it was that she wanted to admit.

"What about today?" Mokou asked.

"W-well, you see… I wasn't… that is… when I said I came out here to stretch my wings…" Mystia kept stopping and Mokou became more irritated as she looked on.

"Spit it out already, it won't kill you." Mokou said, perhaps a bit too sharply to Mystia, who gained a look of rebellion in the next instant.

"Ah, just forget it!" Mystia threw up her hands in the air, her tightly bundled blanket flying off of her body. Mokou was about to continue questioning her, until she saw Mystia's nervous expression, as though she had just realized something and it was sinking in. Mystia's grey eyes looked at Mokou who looked at her, then she looked down at her nakedness and her entire face stiffened in horror. Before Mokou could ask what was wrong, Mystia cried out and tore off her damp clothes from the rope as she flew out of the house, almost breaking the door from how hard she threw it open.

"Hey, it's still raining!" Mokou was completely at a loss for Mystia's actions, so she just sat there instead of chasing after her, the rainstorm a little more forgiving than earlier as it was more a light drizzle than a downpour now. Mokou finally got up, overcoming her confusion, and was about to close the door when she saw someone approaching from the forest. The only person who knew where she was other than Mystia was Keine. She left the door open and tried to muster up the best smile she could manage, ignoring what had just happened. As the figure approached, she could see it was a young man, not Keine, who approached, panting heavily. Her smile disappeared and her confusion just deepened at the sight. "Who are you?" Mokou asked once the villager reached her house, bending down to take a couple deep breaths, his clothes even more soaked than Mystia's had been. When he had finally caught his breath, the villager spoke.

"You're Mokou, right? I need you to come to the village right away!" Before Mokou could respond, the villager continued on. "Keine's been injured badly and she needs to be taken to Eintei! Please, you're the only one-"

He barely finished his sentence before Mokou flew out of her house towards the human village. She didn't even look back on the previous confusion she had over the day's events; she just acted without thinking. If the injury was serious enough for a human doctor to be unable to treat it and for Keine to tell someone where Mokou lived, then there was no more time to waste. This was especially the case since the villager had obviously been running in the rain for a while, so there was no telling how long it had been since Keine sustained this supposedly life-threatening injury, whatever it was. The light drizzle was just about to stop completely as Mokou landed in front of Keine's house, a crowd of people parting as she made her way inside the house. She took a few more hurried steps, then stopped suddenly.

The doctor kneeling beside Keine's face looked at Mokou with regret, but Mokou ignored the expression on his face and shook her head, thinking she must have been mistaken with her assumption. She walked up to Keine, her face peaceful, as though she were sleeping peacefully, but her lower body seemed crushed from the chest down, her legs bent at an odd angle. Mokou bent down and picked her up, but the doctor grabbed her wrist.

"What the hell do you think you're doing." Mokou muttered, her voice harsh, as though she knew deep down it was already too late. The doctor looked straight at Mokou, not saying a word as his expression was one of sincere regret. "Why are you stopping me, I need to… I need to…" The sound of dripping blood echoed throughout the house, as even the onlookers remained silent, not daring to interfere. Mokou gritted her teeth as she collapsed to the floor, Keine's body still remaining in her arms. "Is this some sort of sick joke!?" Mokou's voice bellowed throughout the area, startling some villagers from how loud it was, her anger directed at this entire situation. "Keine's alive, she has to be! She can't… this has to be a joke!" Mokou's voice continued hysterically yelling as her arms clutched tighter around Keine's corpse, her eyes tearing up. "It's far too soon… far too…"

Mokou's voice became an incoherent jumble of noises as her cries rivaled the earlier noise of the downpour.

* * *

It was a sunny day, no cloud in sight as the fairies danced along a lake somewhere far away. The sun tried to make its way into Mokou's house, but was stopped by the sliding doors near the entrance. Mokou lay out of the sun's rays, staring at the ceiling. Her body was unmoving, but she was very much still alive, waiting.

She wasn't waiting for anything in particular; she just waited until she felt like it was no longer time to wait. Such a waste of time was perfect for someone with too much time on their hands; an eternity, to be precise.

And so, an eternity she would wait.

* * *

It was another clear day, but the wind had picked up too much for it to be called a warm day, as it carried a chilly atmosphere with it. This did not reach Mokou, as the doors to her home still remained closed. Her body was unmoving, but she was very much still alive, waiting.

She wasn't waiting for anything in particular; she just waited until she felt like it was no longer time to wait. Such a waste of time was perfect for someone with too much time on their hands; an eternity, to be precise.

And so, an eternity she would wait.

* * *

It was a cloudy day, but it was not rain clouds hovering over. They simply stood suspended in mid-air, neither creating nor threatening rain to the earth below, but Mokou couldn't have known this, as she stayed inside for another day. Her body was unmoving, but she was very much still alive, waiting.

She wasn't waiting for anything in particular; she just waited until she felt like it was no longer time to wait. Such a waste of time was perfect for someone with too much time on their hands; an eternity, to be precise.

And so, an eternity she would wait.

But even that felt like it wouldn't be enough.

* * *

It was a weather-less day yet again, the entire sky was a light brown ceiling and her earth was a grey-matted floor. For Mokou, this scenery remained un-changed for a… week? Two? She had lost count of how many days it had been since Keine passed away. But as for her, she was still alive.

Still alive. Still waiting.

Her long, white hair lay scattered along the floor around her, but still remained attached to her head, as though she were a doll who was tossed onto the floor. Her red eyes were dimmer than they once were, the life in them had faded away in her continuing depression. The clothes she wore hadn't been changed since that day, but it didn't matter to her, since changing her clothes would mean getting up. Answering the knock on the door would also mean the same thing. That being said, she couldn't even acknowledge the fact that someone was there to see her, nor could she hear the voice calling out for her to open the door. The door could be heard sliding open as the 'clonk' of shoes could also be heard landing on top of the table, finally causing Mokou to turn her head and see that someone was standing on the table with their dirty shoes. Her eyes widened, then her mind grew dark, plotting the horrible and twisted way she would torture and kill whoever had the audacity to step on a memento of Keine.

"_**You bitch!**_" Mokou couldn't even see who she was attacking, her entire world was a blur as she dug her nails into the stomach of the intruder. Somewhere in the back of her rage fuelled mind, she could hear a piercing scream as she swiped at her face, but the intruder dodged and tried to fly away, but Mokou grabbed her wings and ripped them off…? She felt like she knew someone with wings like these.

Mokou's mind finally started coming back to her as her vision cleared and saw what she had done. Her hands still held onto the wings that formerly were attached to Mystia, her belly bleeding profusely from the large gash Mokou had just created. Mystia's eyes were darting around and wide, her mouth trembling, and her hands slowly pressing down onto her wound so as to stop the bleeding. Mokou dropped Mystia's wings and rushed to Mystia's side. "No, no, no, I didn't mean to… I'm so sorry…"

The moment Mokou reached out for Mystia, she screeched and scrambled to the nearest corner of the room, bleeding all over the room from her wounds as she used her hands to push Mokou away in instinctive defense. As she made it to the corner, her expression was complete disarry; fear, confusion, panic, shock, pain, anger and hysteria. All of these were plain on her face as she started chanting. "Monster, monster, monster, monster, monster-"

"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry." Mokou wasn't much better herself, her mind slowly losing control as well, but she knew that if she didn't get Mystia to Eintei, then she would likely die from her wounds. "I need to take you to Eintei!" Mystia didn't even acknowledge Mokou's words, continuing to call her a monster while she had her sharp nails outstretched in defense. Mokou knew that it was all her fault, but she also knew that by the time she convinced Mystia to come with her, she would already be dead, so she did the only thing she could; she charged towards Mystia. She completely ignored the nails that penetrated her gut and right shoulder and grasped onto Mystia's flailing figure, completely overwhelmed with instinctive fear and trauma. Before Mokou could knock her out, Mystia bit into the neck of Mokou, gnawing through in animalistic rage much like what a wounded animal would do when cornered. Mokou blacked out before she could stop Mystia, who kept a hand where Mokou's neck would regenerate, so as to avoid having Mokou coming back to life in the next moment. Mokou's face began crying at the fact she not only failed to save someone else, but that fact that she was to blame for Mystia's upcoming death.

* * *

It was a dark night as a windless cold crawled its way into Mokou's house, her body now with its head despite being beheaded earlier that day. That's right, Mokou was still alive.

Laying beside her, covered in either her own or Mokou's blood, was Mystia, but all Mokou could bear to look at was the face. In Mystia's last moments, she had called Mokou a monster; one of the qualities that Mokou liked the most about Mystia was that she wasn't afraid of her, but she was wrong. The quality she liked about Mystia was that fact that she trusted Mokou enough to believe she wouldn't do anything violent towards her. It was trust, not courage, and Mystia had that trust betrayed in her last moments. Mokou didn't dare look away from Mystia's face, as it was a reminder of what she had done.

That's when she saw Mystia yawn and open her eyes, her grey pupils staring back at Mokou's red ones.

That's right… Mystia, much like Mokou, was still alive.

"Mystia!?" Mokou yelled a bit too loudly, startling Mystia as she jumped back into the corner. Mokou calmed down and noticed that Mystia's wings were on her as though nothing had happened, and the wound on in her stomach had disappeared. She looked into the middle of the room and saw that the wings she had ripped off her earlier were still there in the room, and she turned to face Mystia with wide eyes at the realization. "Y-you didn't…" Mystia glared at Mokou, but didn't ignore the question.

"I was dying and I had no idea where Eintei was. That's when I remembered the rumors about immortal liver." Mystia spoke hatefully, still remaining cautious around Mokou, but less guarded since she was now immortal as well.

"You ate my liver…" Mokou spoke, still in disbelief.

"You didn't leave me a choice and you damn well know it!" Mystia snapped, her eyes starting to well up with tears. "Why'd you attack me, Why!?" Her grey eyes became clouded as her knees gave out from underneath her, Mystia's face breaking down. "I got sick after I last visited and stayed home for weeks, but… but… there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you!"

"Mystia…?"

"And when I finally felt well enough to come visit you, I decided to come in full-force like usual, determined to maybe gather enough courage to finally tell you my feelings… but then you… you… try to kill me!? _** What the fuck!?**_ When you said you liked how I was… I thought it might be alright, but… but…"

"What are you saying…?"

"It doesn't matter what I'm saying! Don't you get it? Whatever it was… whatever we had here, whether it was a rivalry or a friendship or acquaintances, it's over! …Got it?" Mystia's voice became weak at the very end, her sobs plainly showing in her voice. Mokou tried to think of something, anything to make her understand she didn't mean what she did.

"…Keine died." Mokou spoke softly, hopeful that it would somehow explain everything. All she got out of Mystia was a thrown bag, which hit her straight in the face, making her bleed for a second before she started regenerating.

"Lucky girl, to be cared about so much that you'd kill someone in your sorrow!" Mystia screeched as she got up and dashed out of the house, leaving Mokou alone in the house. She just sat there for a while, staring out at the night sky, wondering just when it was that Mystia visited. It was then that she decided to look inside the bag Mystia thrown at her; a smashed up bottle of what appeared to be sake. … _I decided to come in full-force like usual, determined to maybe gather enough courage to tell you my feelings…_ Mystia's words echoed throughout Mokou's head, finally understanding that Mystia was in love with her… or rather, was. She took a piece of the broken bottle, still holding some of the liquid, and swallowed some of the alcohol, tasting her blood as she had cut her lips while drinking.

The alcohol was sweet, but her blood was bitter. She almost laughed at this terrible coincidence to her mood, but decided to weep instead.

* * *

It was a cold day, a blanket of snow covering the normally green land of Gensokyo in a state of winter. The chill of the outside tried to invade the homes of the residents of Gensokyo, not discerning between those who lived together or alone, as Mystia had found out, keeping her feet under the kotatsu. She was silent, but very much still alive.

Perhaps she was unused to the large access of time eternity promised her, so rather than waiting for the sake of waiting, she was trying to occupy her thoughts with ways to spend time with those around her. Knowing she would be alive for much longer than them, she decided not to waste a single moment, but was keeping away for today. Last time she had kept Cirno's group company, they were put off by her insistence to keep being with them, almost to the point of being overwhelmed and disturbed. She learned from her mistake and had no intention of making it again, so she decided to keep her distance for now. She hadn't told them about what had happened with Mokou, as it was a very hard thing to bring up what had happened that day, so they didn't know she was immortal yet. She wasn't ready to tell them, but when she eventually would, she would be sure to make something up as to how it happened, as the truth was too uncomfortable for her to admit.

Mystia thought of many different ways to spend time with her friends, but eventually grew tired of it, her restlessness from before she became immortal still remaining. It still didn't feel like anything changed, despite the fact that she never got hungry anymore; this didn't stop her from eating sweets and drinking alcohol, however. Maybe if she died again, her current state of being would finally sink in. Still, these curious thoughts did nothing to keep her feet still. Mystia lingered around the kotatsu for a second longer until she could no longer remain still; she got up and put on warm clothing appropriate for the cold weather, then exited her house. She hadn't yet poked her wings through the slits she made in the back of the coat, so she wriggled them around until she felt them fit into the holes. The key-in-lock feeling was comforting to the night-sparrow, a small smile appearing on her face as she stretched out her wings. She paused for a moment, realizing she had nowhere to go; normally, she would either go hang out with Cirno and the like, or… she would go to Mokou's house. Needless to say, both of those options were out of the question for her, so she just decided to fly around in the winter sky aimlessly.

Taking a few steps for some momentum, Mystia's wings caught the chilly air as she took off. As she gained altitude, she came to the sudden realization that she could try doing different things while flying now; she could fly at a breakneck speed, see how far she could fly up into the sky, travel into dangerous areas she thought she'd never see in her lifetime… She didn't have to take her life into consideration anymore, so these things weren't impossible for her now. She tried thinking back to the time she died in Mokou's house, her first 'death', and realized she didn't remember it. This led Mystia to the conclusion that, perhaps, death was more of a temporary sleep for an immortal and not something they really needed to think about too much. Her grey eyes shimmered with slight excitement as she continued to climb up into the sky; since she was already in the process of doing so, she decided to see how far up she could go.

As she soared higher up, even higher than the winter clouds, her instincts screamed for her to stop, but she ignored them. She knew that it most certainly would have been good advice if she were still a regular Yōkai, but for now she wanted to reach skies that remained untouched. The cold became even harsher and the sky's light blue turned darker as she stretched out her arms towards up above, a childish grin spreading across her face. It was uncomfortable, without a doubt, but the unreachable territory of a place beyond the world's skies itself was just within her reach.

Closer. Higher. Just a little more…

Mystia opened her eyes in the next instant, blinking. She was confused, as she never remembered closing them to begin with; she was sure she was flying higher just a moment ago. She first noticed the chilly numb across her wings and turned to see they had been frost-bitten and were folded near her body. That's when she also realized she was falling. She had just enough time to see the snowy ground underneath her before she crashed into it, legs first. She could feel her leg bones splinter and shatter, and her entire body collapsing in on itself from the momentum, but she couldn't scream from the pain, as her head caved in at nearly the same moment.

* * *

It was a cold, bloody day and yada, yada, yada. Mystia didn't really care about the weather right now, as she was screaming her head off, thrashing around in the snow. Her body was back to normal, but her mind remembered all of that pain she experienced in the split second of her second experience with death.

She had died a second time, but she was very much still alive.

Her first thought was why it had hurt so much, as she never felt such pain during her first death. Her second thought was an incomprehensible mixture of screeches and whimpers; her voice was currently displaying those thoughts for all to hear. It took a long, painful time of reliving her second death before she finally calmed down for her third thought; Her first death occurred during a time when her mind was driven with animalistic adrenalin. The reason she probably didn't think too much of it was because she wasn't in her normal mindset. Now that she was laying down in the snow, imprints of her body all around in the blood stained snow, she started laughing at her own stupidity. Maybe it was to keep her sanity by pretending it was nothing major, but it was genuine laughter. "Damn, that hurt!" She spoke mid-laughter, placing her hands on her legs to make sure they weren't compressed like mochi.

"Well, that was certainly a surprise." An unfamiliar voice spoke near Mystia, who turned her head to the source. She saw a short girl with long black hair, wearing a red kimono. Mystia's grey eyes studied the girl's expression with interest, as she showed no shock, but surprise, like she had mentioned. If anyone had witnessed someone die in such a gruesome way, then watched the same being come back to life, Mystia doubted they would merely be surprised. The girl, upon noticing Mystia's studying expression, gave a knowing smile. "Some clarification is in order; I'm an immortal, which I'm assuming you are as well." Mystia's ears perked up in surprise, then her mind thought of a name.

"Are you Kaguya… sorry, I forget the last name, but are you?" Mystia asked, remembering that there was one other immortal aside from Mokou living in the bamboo forest. Continuing the thought of locations, Mystia noticed that she was currently in a small clearing next to an old-fashioned Japanese manor. Peeking out through the screen doors were many curious, some frightened, faces; the long ears on top of their heads revealing they were rabbit Yōkai. She also noticed the large amount of footprints next to her imprints, thinking they probably ran away while she was screaming her head off, or maybe when she was falling.

"Indeed I am, and you are?" Kaguya asked while Mystia was studying the surrounding area. Mystia gave the area one more look over before answering.

"Mystia Lorelei." Mystia introduced herself then looked at the rabbits once more, their faces still timid, but less weary upon seeing Kaguya talking casually with Mystia, who looked down at the red snow embarrassedly. "I guess everyone here saw my fit?"

"Saw it? They were standing around you when you had it." Kaguya said, her voice containing hints of a teasing tone. Mystia wasn't really upset though, as she did come crashing down out of nowhere. "This isn't the first time they've seen an immortal die, but it's most certainly the first time they've seen one scream and flail in such a way." Kaguya said honestly, but still maintain the teasing tone.

"I never knew death was so painful…" Mystia spoke sheepishly.

"Strange thing for an immortal to say."

"That was only the second time I've died."

"Ah yes, I guess I recall doing something similar during my second death as well." Kaguya brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully, grimacing at the memory. "Sorry for teasing you about it." Mystia shook her head, indicating she held no grudge. Kaguya then walked over and crouched down close to Mystia, but it was still an awkward length away, as she had avoided crouching in the snow stained with blood. "So, are you a very cautious immortal, or have you not been one for long?" Kaguya asked, interlocking her hands for a makeshift headrest as she placed her chin overtop.

"If I were cautious, I wouldn't have fallen in such a way." Mystia stated with a small chuckle, making fun of herself.

"A new one then; how did you become immortal?" Kaguya tilted her head as she asked. Mystia was about to speak, but shut her mouth just as she was about to answer. It was still a very unpleasant memory for her and she didn't want to say it if she didn't have to. Kaguya gave a prodding look, as though she were telling Mystia to be unafraid. "I won't laugh if it's embarrassing."

"No, that's not it at all… It's just unpleasant for me to remember." Mystia explained, her mouth becoming a frown. Kaguya made an 'oh' sound, as her expression became understanding.

"Well then, I won't inquire any further. Still, you have caused quite a disturbance around here, so shall I have you keep me company for the day as compensation?" Kaguya gave a small smile, as though it were already decided. Mystia laughed nervously upon realizing she probably didn't have much of a choice in the matter, and nodded her head in agreement. "Wonderful, I haven't had a guest in ages!" Kaguya's brown eyes sparkled in excitement as she sprung up and twirled around, stopping to face Mystia after only spinning once. "But perhaps we should get you in some new clothes first, maybe a bath as well." Mystia looked down at herself in response to Kaguya's words, seeing that her winter clothes were in complete tatters on top of being colored red; Mystia remembered putting on blue-ish winter garb when she left her house. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as her head tilted lower to the ground, as though she were bowing.

"If it's not too much trouble…" Mystia said apologetically. Kaguya waved her hand over towards some of the rabbit Yōkai to come closer and all of them came, misunderstanding the gesture as one for all of them. Kaguya laughed to herself, realizing she wouldn't have normally made such a mistake, but her mind was clouded with happiness; one of the first visitors in a long time and it was an immortal like herself.

"You, go and warm up the water for the bath. You and you, find her some spare clothes that fit. The rest of you can continue to prepare for tonight." Kaguya pointed and directed a few of the rabbit Yōkai, to which they obeyed. Mystia got up before Kaguya reached her, as she was making her way back towards her. When Kaguya gestured for her to follow, Mystia realized she was going to lead her to the bath, so she trailed behind her. As she followed her, Mystia could see the rabbit Yōkai picking up mallets which they had abandoned when Mystia landed, and they walked over to numerous large buckets scattered across the clearing. Mystia felt a little dumb for not noticing the objects sooner, as they were in plain sight, but a lot had happened to her in the past few minutes so she didn't think about it for too long.

Kaguya led Mystia through Eintei, the hallways adorned with many doors and forks as she kept turning into different directions; Mystia had the notion that if she were lost here, it would take quite a while to find her way back outside. When they finally reached the bath, Kaguya opened the door for Mystia and said, "I'll have someone lead you to where I am after you're done; they'll be waiting for you in the hallway." Before Mystia could ask her, Kaguya went on to say, "Your clothes will be placed inside the changing room while you're in the bath. If you haven't received them, then just ask whoever I left in the hallway and they'll help you."

"Thank you very much." Mystia bowed as politely as she could, remembering that Kaguya was some sort of princess, but she giggled in regards to her actions. Worried she had done something wrong, Mystia tried to retreat into the changing room with flushed cheeks.

"Ah, wait!" Kaguya called out to her. "I wasn't laughing at you, honest. I just think you don't have to act so formal with me." Mystia turned around, relived she hadn't done anything silly, but was also confused.

"But you're being very kind to me-" Mystia started before being silenced by Kaguya's shaking head.

"Then you can show that appreciation by humoring me, right?" Kaguya asked with a smile. Mystia didn't really have anything she could say to that, as Kaguya was exactly right in that regard. "You're my guest, and I expect you to act as such; that means no stiff displays of formality, understand?" Mystia's face became even more puzzled when she heard those words, as the exact opposite should have been true. The manner of acting Kaguya was implying was close to the way Mystia had visited Mokou however, so perhaps…

"Are you trying to say I'm your friend despite knowing little to nothing about me?" Mystia asked, to which Kaguya nodded.

"Indeed, you are my friend… although perhaps that's inaccurate." Kaguya put a finger to her chin in a pondering manner as she continued. "You're more of a method of staving off my loneliness; I did say that this was compensation for disrupting the rabbit's work, didn't I? You are to be my friend for today because of that, but whether we remain as such afterwards is entirely up to you."

Mystia looked at Kaguya with surprise, as well as understanding, since they shared a similar state of living; immortality. Mystia knew that Kaguya had lived for much longer than herself, and that she probably lost a great deal of friends to time. She wasn't going to assume anything about Kaguya's current reasons for feeling lonely, as that would be rude, but if it was a friend she wanted, even if it was just for tonight, she felt like she could do that. Mystia sighed jokingly and said with a smile, "I guess I have no choice; I'll be your friend for now." Kaguya grinned knowingly in response, appreciative.

"Well then, I'll leave you be for now. See you soon, friend." Kaguya said the word 'friend' with a certain giddiness, yet maintained her composure. Mystia tried to hold back a laugh, as it seemed to her that Kaguya was childish in the way she was overly excited over gaining a friend. Luckily, Kaguya had not noticed as she had walked away to leave Mystia to her business. Mystia giggled a little to herself before entering the changing room; a large space with a couple long benches and several shelving units filled with empty squares. Mystia blinked, as she hadn't seen a room like this before, plus it seemed like it could fit a great deal of people inside. Letting the thought go for now, she quickly discarded her clothes onto the floor, ignoring the shelving since she didn't want the wood to stain with whatever blood hadn't dried on her clothes; the floor was a hard tile of some sort, so it could be cleaned like nothing was there in the first place.

She slid open the door to an even larger room with a large bath in the middle; the steam being emitted from it showed that it had been heated up despite such a small amount of time having been passed. Not wanting to waste any time, Mystia slipped into the warmth of the cleansing liquid, her sore muscles almost instantly melting into bliss. "Ah, nothing like taking a bath after dying." Mystia spoke the words as a joke, but she sounded like she truly meant it. She let her wings stretch out in sync with her legs as she lay back along the edges of the bath, enjoying the experience for all it was worth.

She stayed in the water for a long time, perhaps longer than she should have, and wanted to linger even longer, but the last time she ignored her instincts ended in a large amount of pain, so she stood up and got out of the bath with reluctance. When she went back to the changing room, the clothes she discarded on the floor were gone, and a neatly folded kimono was placed on the bench with some undergarments. She put them on and found they were the right size; there were even slits in the back made for her wings to fit through, which she appreciated. The kimono was a dark purple with some white lines depicting the images of flowers scattered along the purple; it reminded Mystia of a field full of flowers during night-time, illuminated by the white light of the moon.

Mystia took her leave of the changing room and exited to find a rabbit Yōkai waiting outside; her guide to Kaguya, she supposed. It was a lazy-looking rabbit, with short brown hair and droopy ears; they didn't droop too much however, as they would block her vision then. She had narrow eyes that looked like they would close at an moment, and her face showed no emotion to Mystia. "Umm-" Mystia was about to ask her if she was there to lead her, but the rabbit yawned, interrupting her.

"Ha~ Yeah, yeah, let's get you to the princess." She spoke in a manner that felt like she was just speaking to no one in particular. Mystia felt a little upset at this display, but decided it wouldn't be worth it to call her out on it and just followed after her. It was a very slow pace, seemingly meant to take as long as possible, but the rabbit moved with certainty as she led Mystia through the various halls and doorways; a sign she had been here for a long time. Eventually, she stopped in front of another sliding door, the same as every other, and gestured for Mystia to go inside. "She's in here."

Mystia opened the door after a long pause, realizing that the rabbit wasn't going to open it for her. Upon entering, she noticed how plain the room was; some cushions and a kotatsu with cups of tea resting atop. There wasn't much else to comment on about the room, except that Kaguya was lying down on the ground-her legs underneath the kotatsu-sleeping. She smiled, amused at the sight, and was about to ask the rabbit something, but her guide was no longer there. Mystia still felt amused at the sight of Kaguya, so she wasn't too bothered by this fact, and just entered the room while closing the door behind her. She took care not to wake up Kaguya as she sat down in the spot with an untouched cup of tea, assuming it was for her. The warmth of the kotatsu was almost as pleasant as the water she bathed in earlier and she found herself stretching out her legs almost subconsciously, bumping into Kaguya's legs accidently. Mystia tried pulling them away, but it was too late as she heard Kaguya stirring from her rest and sitting up to face her. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Mystia said as Kaguya gave her a blinking look.

"Sorry? I was only sleeping to pass the time, so it's no trouble; you should have woken me sooner." Kaguya stated, suppressing a small laugh, which Mystia noticed.

"What's funny?"

"Have you ever felt tired as an immortal?" Kaguya asked seriously, a knowing smile across her face. Mystia thought about the question for a second, then realized she never truly felt exhausted since eating Mokou's liver. Kaguya, upon noticing Mystia's realization, took her answer as a 'no'. "We can stay up for our entire existence if we choose to do so, but sleep is a good way to pass the time when there's nothing to do." Kaguya stated. Mystia thought back to all of those times she fell asleep since the day she became immortal; She stayed up later than usual, singing and flying through the forest, then went home and slept when she 'tired' of it. Sometimes she thought she could see the sun poking it's head from above the mountains, but when she went back home and woke up from her short sleep, she assumed it had been a dream, as she wasn't feeling tired in the slightest. "How long have you been an immortal?" Kaguya asked.

"About three months now. I guess I just went about my days normally since then, so that's probably why I didn't notice."

"I see…" Kaguya trailed off, as though she were remembering something, but shook her head in dismissal as she started a different topic. "Are you aware of the festival we are holding tonight?" Mystia shook her head. "We are holding a festival to celebrate the full moon; a moon festival, as it's aptly named. I believe some force must be at work, for you to come crashing down on such a day, so perhaps you'd like to stay for that as well?" Kaguya looked at Mystia with anticipation, despite her best efforts to seem indifferent to whether or not Mystia came or not. Mystia was about to respond yes, but then she realized it was a chance to get revenge for the teasing earlier.

"Hmm, I probably shouldn't." Mystia said with a straight face, Kaguya's mouth twitching in dismay, but she covered it up with another indifferent expression.

"Oh, why is that?"

"You didn't look too terribly excited at the idea. I guess my company must be boring to you after all." Kaguya's eyes widened as Mystia sat up. "I'm very sorry for disrupting your rabbit's work, I'll take my leave now." Mystia bowed politely, continuing the façade. Kaguya's face had completely lost all of its composure, finally showing an expression of despair and regret.

"W-wait a moment, I want you to come, honest!" Kaguya exclaimed, leaping up from her seat and clasping onto Mystia's hands. Her face was inches away from Mystia's as she stared with a dead serious face, not noticing the flush of red that had just made its way across Mystia's cheeks. "I just don't want to be pushy, that's all." Kaguya's voice became quieter as she let go of Mystia's hands and slunk back into her seat, allowing Mystia time to recover from how close Kaguya was to her face. Mystia never noticed it before, but her eternally young face had a certain charm akin to that of what beauty was perceived as during older times; certainly, she was a princess, but it wasn't until Mystia took a real good look at her that the fact started to sink in. It was a different kind of beauty from Mokou, who was almost the complete opposite in both clothing and posture; a much more unrefined look, yet the appeal of how 'free' she looked was attractive.

Mystia shook her head dismissively, trying to throw thoughts of Mokou out of her head as she paid attention to Kaguya once more. "Of course I'll go." Mystia said with a grin as she went back into her seat, Kaguya immediately looking at Mystia with hopeful eyes.

"Really…?" Kaguya started the word with excitement, then trailed off when she saw Mystia's grin, finally realizing she had been teased.

"Revenge for earlier." Mystia said with a wink. Kaguya looked down at the kotatsu and blushed hard, embarrassed, and Mystia took a deep breath at the sight; Now that she was aware of Kaguya's appeal, she couldn't help but think that Kaguya was cute when she acted like that. Before she could even think about it, Mystia stood up and sat down next to her, causing her to shift in her seat, startled. "No formalities, right?" Mystia said that as she patted Kaguya's shoulder, eliciting an even deeper blush from the princess. Not even Mystia knew what she was doing right now; perhaps all of those nights alone had finally caught up to her, and the fact that such a beautiful girl was right in front of her seemed to urge her forward.

"M-Mystia, you're really close…" Kaguya fidgeted around, her eyes darting away from Mystia.

"Oh, but weren't you close like this-" Mystia took Kaguya's head and turned it towards her, keeping it a similar distance away from when Kaguya clasped onto her hands. "-earlier?"

"W-well, I was…" Kaguya's blush didn't fade, and her eyes kept darting around, looking into Mystia's eyes every now and again before looking away the next moment. With the way Kaguya was acting, something triggered deep inside Mystia, her body almost moving on its own. Her left wing curled up around Kaguya's back as she leaned her body in towards Kaguya's. "M-Mystia!?" Ignoring the cry, Mystia wrapped her other wing around Kaguya, her arms following shortly after, and placed her forehead along Kaguya's.

"Hmm, was it this close?" Mystia asked, despite knowing it wasn't true. Kaguya's expression became a little sterner at those words.

"Stop teasing me." Kaguya said, sighing. The change in expression and the way she said it gave Mystia the confirmation she needed.

"Are you sure?" Mystia asked.

"Of course, why would I want to be teased?" Kaguya asked, a little confused to why Mystia asked.

"Just making sure." Mystia said, pressing her tongue inside Kaguya's mouth. At first, Kaguya's expression became shocked, her body unmoving as though it had been paralyzed. After a few more seconds of Mystia exploring the inside of Kaguya's mouth however, Kaguya leaned into the deep kiss, moving her tongue along Mystia's in search of more pleasure. Mystia moved her thigh slowly in between Kaguya's, pressing her flesh along Kaguya's covered sensitive area. A moan could be heard mid-kiss, encouraging Mystia to continue further, deeper, become more passionate…

Kaguya jumped up quickly, breaking free of Mystia's grasp and knocking the cups of tea off the kotatsu, staining the floors. She covered her mouth with her hands, her face completely beet red as her expression was bewildered, confused as to what she had just done. Mystia also wore a similar expression, but her hands weren't covering her mouth, as they had moved them to the floor to support her from falling onto her back from the force of Kaguya standing up. They both stared at each other for a lingering moment, before Kaguya rushed out of the room. Mystia just sat there, still trying to get a grasp of what had happened.

Although Mystia wasn't aware of it, a part of her kissed Kaguya because she already knew, perhaps instinctively, that Kaguya was also attracted to girls.


End file.
